A while back I introduced you to the song To Dust by the artist Moonsoul, and now it’s time to learn more about the artist!
What’s your real name?
Cyrus Mehta
How did you come up with your artist name?
I was thinking of names and had a list of them, but none of them really felt right. So I waited and one night while having a shower, I heard the word Moonsoul in my head and I really liked it, so I stuck with it.
Where are you from? And where do you live?
I was born in Mumbai, India, but I currently reside in Dubai, U.A.E
How long have you been playing the piano, and do you play other instruments as well?
I have been playing the keyboard and piano for about 9 years now. As I record music in my apartment, I have shifted to using a MIDI controller (and Logic PRO) as I find it way more versatile and simpler to record music this way. I also enjoy playing the xylophone. Find it very calming.
Tell us about how you started playing music.
As a young teenager, I saw a video of Coldplay performing the song “Clocks” live for the first time and as soon as I heard the piano hook/riff, it lit something up in my head and all I wanted to do was to buy a keyboard and play that hook. It was the song that not only got me interested in the piano, but music in general. After that, I started learning how to play other songs and that was the beginning of my musical journey.
How long have you been making piano music?
About 3 years, but I have only just started releasing my music.
Tell us something about that moment you realized you could make songs yourself!
During a not so nice phase of my life, I was playing the keyboard one night and a little piece just wrote itself and it resonated with what I was feeling at the time. I didn’t think it sounded too bad, so I made a rough recording and sent it to a couple of friends who also liked it, so that was the moment where I realized that I could write music myself.
What are your favorite artists in this “piano genre”?
Olafur Arnalds, Ludovico Einuaudi, Sigur Ros and Coldplay.
Is there one song which you play over and over again as soon as you sit down by a piano? Your own or someone else’s?
Postcards from Far Away and Clocks by Coldplay.
What rules (in making music) needs to be broken?
The rule that states that there are rules to making music.
How do you record your music? Yourself? In a big studio? etc.
I record music by myself in my apartment. I use a MIDI controller and Logic Pro. With so many virtual instruments available now, I find it a lot easier to use those sounds and manipulate them to an extent where I feel that I am able to authentically express myself.
Whats your take on sampled instruments?
No take yet. Still learning about it.
Where do all your songs come from?
I think all music already exists somewhere in the universe and if you put enough of your energy into learning how to play an instrument/music, then the universe rewards you by sharing it’s music with and through you.
Thanks for this little talk Cyrus!
For more information please check out the following links:
Instagram / Spotify